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Heart Attack Vs. Heart Failure: Here's How To Tell The Difference
Symptoms vary. We must guard our hearts properly. The heart provides oxygen to the brain, warmth to the hands, and life. However, heart disease—including heart attack and heart failure—is the leading cause of mortality in the US.
Heart Attack Symptoms Vs. Heart Failure SymptomsMost heart attack symptoms vary from heart failure symptoms. You presumably see a heart attack victim holding their chest before collapsing. According to the NHLBI, heart attack symptoms might be mild, but chest pain—especially pressure, tightness, hurting, or a squeezing feeling that extends down the left arm or jaw—is a typical indicator. Dr. Stempien-Otero believes women are more likely to develop nausea, dyspepsia, cold sweats, and severe, inexplicable exhaustion. Shortness of breath and abrupt dizziness are other warning signs.
Dr. Stempien-Otero believes shortness of breath, particularly during movement, is the most prevalent heart failure sign. Getting up from the sofa, going up the stairs, and doing other daily activities shouldn't leave you breathless or weary. When the heart stops beating adequately, fluid gathers around the lungs, causing breathlessness and leg, ankle, and foot edema.
According to the Mayo Clinic, other heart failure symptoms include a chronic cough, abdominal swelling, fast, unexplained weight gain from fluid buildup, nausea, loss of appetite, difficulties focusing, and a rapid or irregular pulse.
RELATED: Cardiac Arrest vs. Heart Attack: What's the Difference?
What Are The Causes Of A Heart Attack Vs. Heart Failure?Jeffrey Teuteberg, MD, division head of heart failure, cardiac transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support at Stanford Medicine, tells SELF that many variables increase the chance of heart attack and heart failure. High blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar, and body size are metabolic variables. Both disorders are connected to heart-damaging drugs like cigarettes. Genetics and family history may affect either.
Heart attacks increase heart failure risk. Dr. Teuteberg believes cardiac attacks damage the heart, making it pump less effectively. "Much greater risk for getting the forms of heart failure that cause the heart muscle not to squeeze as well," he says of heart attack survivors.
Other frequent heart failure risk factors include:
These risk factors impact people differently. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Black women are twice as likely to suffer persistent high blood pressure during pregnancy. Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Indigenous Americans have higher diabetes rates than white Americans. These gaps are complicated, but socioeconomic determinants of health—exposure to racial discrimination and violence, financial stability, excellent education, empathic health care, supportive living situations, and healthy food—play a role. These risk factors may increase heart attack, heart failure, or both.
How Is A Heart Attack Treated Vs. Heart Failure?All of the symptoms above might indicate additional health conditions. When should you visit a doctor? Dr. Stempien-Otero advises going to the ER for acute chest discomfort, shortness of breath, or a high heart rate.
Heart attacks are usually emergencies. Heart failure progresses slowly. However, Dr. Stempien-Otero explains that people with early heart failure symptoms typically slow down without recognizing it, requiring rapid treatment.
Heart attacks need clearing of the clogged artery. An angioplasty employs a catheter to implant a tiny, deflated balloon in the blockage and inflate it to expand the blood artery and return blood to the heart. The US National Library of Medicine says stents may keep blood vessels open. This technique reduces cardiac damage if done quickly. Dr. Teuteberg explains, "If you're not near a location that can conduct [an angioplasty], sometimes they'll give you a powerful blood thinner by IV in the hopes that it breaks up that blood clot to restore blood flow." Depending on the clot, this may be your sole treatment or a stopgap until you can go to an angioplasty clinic.
ACE drugs, beta-blockers, and diuretics help treat heart failure. Dr. Stempien-Otero thinks they work well in early heart failure. "I've treated individuals with heart failure drugs for 20 years, and they're doing great." The Mayo Clinic suggests surgery to enhance blood flow, restore heart valves, or treat heart failure problems in severe situations.
How To Keep Your Heart HealthyYou may take various steps to reduce your risk of heart attack and heart failure.
Choose an exercise: Dr. Stempien-Otero urges exercising. Exercise is excellent even if you've had a heart attack or heart failure. She claims exercise benefits even severe heart failure. According to SELF, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week—ideally with at least two days of strength training—can enhance heart health. Moderate-intensity exercise includes SELF's at-home aerobic routines, walking, swimming, cycling, and tennis.
Eat healthily: Dr. Stempien-Otero believes a heart-healthy diet doesn't require cutting major food categories. As SELF notes, eating colorful fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich grains, and limiting salt, added sugar, and alcohol may help.
Checkups: Now's the time if you haven't scheduled your annual checkups. Work with your doctor to lower elevated markers, which may need multiple visits or at-home testing. Dr. Teuteberg explains, "The more you treat them effectively, the less likely you'll have a heart attack or heart failure."
DU Researchers On The Frontier Of Treating Heart Failure
Most Americans are aware of this sobering fact: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Less known, perhaps, is the specific type of heart failure that has become one of the leading causes of hospitalization in patients over 65.
Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF) is a chronic condition in which the heart muscle is weakened, and its filling ability is impaired. Approximately 3.1 million Americans suffer from this syndrome.
"HFpEF occurs due to chronic medical conditions such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes," says Ali Azadani, an associate professor in the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science and director of the University of Denver's Cardiovascular Biomechanics Lab. "Due to an aging population, the prevalence of HFpEF is anticipated to rise by nearly 50% within the next decade."
Effective treatments for this kind of heart failure have eluded the medical research community. Pharmacological therapies for patients in advanced stages have shown limited efficacy, and the FDA has not approved any device-based treatments. This is where Azadani and his team are seeking to make a difference.
"Because no effective therapy has been established as a standard, there has been a movement to develop and evaluate device-based therapies for the treatment of HFpEF patients," says Azadani. It's a problem that the DU Cardiovascular Biomechanics Lab is well positioned to address. The lab, which Azadani established when he joined DU's faculty in 2013, uses computational and experimental methods to obtain greater insights into the complex pathways of cardiovascular diseases and design new medical devices.
Earlier this year, Azadani received a $150,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade to develop a prototype for a Left Atrium Unloading Device (LAUD). "The LAUD is a fully implantable system consisting of a heart assist pump that suctions blood from the left atrium and injects it into the descending aorta," Azadani explains.
To build the prototype, Azadani and his team are collaborating with Cardiost, a Denver-based startup focused on developing effective HFpEF treatments. This type of community partnership is emblematic of DU's robust research efforts. Azadani expects the project to span two years and says undergraduate and graduate students will be actively involved in the work. "Our goal is to optimize the design of the LAUD to ensure optimal performance, minimize flow disturbances and reduce the risk of complications," he says.
To achieve this goal, the team is harnessing the state-of-the-art technology available in DU's research facilities. "We will construct physical prototypes using 3D printing techniques at the Ritchie School of Engineering Innovation Center," Azadani says. "Additionally, in the DU Cardiovascular Biomechanics Lab, we have a modular test loop available for the hydraulic testing of prototypes."
For Azadani, who received the American Heart Association's prestigious Scientist Development Grant in 2016, a project of this scope and scale highlights why he was enticed to join DU's faculty. "The emphasis on biomechanics as part of the school's strategic plan indicates a proactive approach to advancing research, innovation and education in areas that significantly impact human health and well-being," he says. "We also foster strong collaborations with other research groups both in the United States and internationally, allowing us to leverage collective expertise and enhance the impact of our research."
DU's Cardiovascular Biomechanics Lab has a strong track record of securing state, federal and foundational grants to support and advance its research objectives. Azadani is optimistic that the LAUD prototype can play an integral role in developing a promising new treatment for the millions of patients affected by this chronic condition.
Woman, 24, Spends 22 Days In Hospital Fighting For Her Life After Sudden Heart Failure
At 23, the most people would expect to go through is heartbreak — but this woman had an unexpected bout of heart failure which nearly took her life.
On April 22, Kang Ziying felt a sudden pain in her chest alongside dizziness and vomiting which prompted her to seek medical help.
Kang, a student at Republic Polytechnic, was immediately warded as her condition quickly became life-threatening.
Kang's electrocardiogram showed that she had an accelerated heart rate. Her breathing also became more laborious, and the last thing she could recall was being wheeled off into an operating theatre.
According to the National University Heart Centre (NUHCS), Kang was found to be suffering cardiogenic shock from inflammation of the heart (fulminant myocarditis).
Cardiogenic shock is a condition with fast onset and potentially fatal results, as the heart is damaged and can no longer pump sufficient blood to meet the body's needs.
"There was a very high risk that her heart would stop functioning and immediate intervention was needed to save her life," said Assistant Professor Lin Weiqin, NUHCS' Clinical Director of the Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Programme.
The young woman was put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) life support, which took over the functions of the heart and lungs of the most critically ill patients.
Her condition, however, was so severe that doctors added a device on top of ECMO in order to support the left side of her heart and relieve the pressure on her heart.
Before this incident, Kang never had any heart problems.
"I was actually quite scared because I didn't know why it happened, it all felt very sudden. I was a normal person before," Kang told 8world reporters.
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Kang's life was saved after intense treatment by NUHCS' multidisciplinary cardiogenic shock team, the only such team among local public hospitals trained to support patients with combination mechanical circulatory support devices known as ECPella.
But the battle wasn't over just yet as Kang entered the recovery phase.
Seeing her once-healthy child fighting for her life in the intensive care unit, left Kang's mother, Yao Meifen, feeling distressed.
However, her main hope was that her daughter would get well as soon as possible.12 days after surgery, Kang finally regained consciousness.
She recalled: "The rehabilitation doctor came in and told me that I needed to go for rehabilitation. [The thought] scared me. Why did I suddenly have to go for rehab?"
As it turns out, Kang believed that she had only slept for a day or two. She only found out that close to two weeks had passed after a doctor shared the date with her.
After spending 22 days in hospital, Kang was finally discharged. But she's not out of the woods yet.
Kang, who celebrated her 24th birthday in June, shared that her heart is currently operating at 30 per cent capacity. She is still on medication and has to go for regular check-ups.
The brush with death has also forced the young woman to switch up her living habits.
Kang said: "I'm a person who enjoys going out to play and may sometimes stay out late. Now, I might not be able to do so as much as I need to rest more."
Dr Lin explained that because young people have deep physiological reserves, symptoms will only appear when this reserve is almost depleted.
Even when the symptoms of dizziness, fatigue, loss of appetite and nausea appear, they're common ailments and it is therefore difficult to detect if there's an underlying condition, he said.
Kang shared that she had a slight fever a few days before she was hospitalised, but she felt fine enough and went to school as per usual, going through her day until the point she started vomiting.
Young people shouldn't take their health for granted and should go for regular check-ups so that any symptoms or underlying conditions can be discovered before it is too late, she urged.
khooyihang@asiaone.Com
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